No Dutch courage required

Organisers of Amsterdam’s Marine Equipment Trade Show (METS) are expecting this year’s show to be the biggest to date, with increased floor space and the largest number of exhibitors in the show’s 22-year history.

Some 1,232 companies have already confirmed their place at the 2009 event, which runs from November 17-19 at the Amsterdam RAI exhibition centre. First-time exhibitors include 193 companies at METS and 33 in the SuperYacht Pavilion.

“In these troubled economic times, we were definitely not expecting a record number of exhibitors for METS 2009,” says senior product manager Irene Dros. “We experienced a huge sense of relief when exhibitor commitment reached a healthy level but as the numbers have steadily built up our relief has turned to plain delight.

“It’s an enormously encouraging sign of the fighting spirit in our industry and the strongest possible endorsement of the value global companies place on METS as the place to do business,” she adds. “I think METS 2009 can be seen as a beacon of hope that the marine equipment industry is determined to be proactive and push on through to brighter times.”

METS 2009 and the SuperYacht Pavilion have a new look that revolves around the recently completed Elicium building. The new lay-out offers more space for exhibitors and visitors, a separate hall for the SYP and a good spot for the Design Award METS (DAME) display.